Meet more SOURCE Directors

Alex Karagas, Coordinator of Student Involvement and Leadership

            Depending on how much time you spend in the Ferguson Center, you may have heard the name Alex Karagas once or twice. A slightly frantic and perhaps frazzled student might have mentioned needing to show something to her on their way up to the third floor in the weeks before Get on Board Day. But who is she?

            Other than someone who loves gyros and Fight Club, officially, Ms. Karagas is the Coordinator of the Office of the Student Involvement and Leadership, and the Advisor to the SOURCE Board of Governors. Essentially, Karagas deals with student organization management (the SOURCE) here on campus. Under those official titles, Ms. Karagas is a woman who does so much more. On a larger, group level, she helps student organizations with daily management, which can include anything from fundraising and programming to collaboration and other general daily needs. As the advisor to the SOURCE Board of Governors, Karagas advises on projects like the ReSOURCE Fair and Profiles in Service and Leadership. But, on a more personal level, Karagas works one-on-one with individual students to create four-year leadership plans and get involved on campus.

            As an advisor to the SOURCE, Karagas hopes to create more resources for student organizations on campus, and make the SOURCE more visible to students and student organizations. She hopes to promote the virtual SOURCE space, and ensure student leaders and students know where leadership opportunities exist on campus. Karagas has been involved with student organization management since 2005, when she was a sophomore at UA and the SOURCE was called CCSO. She still chooses to do this job now because, according to Karagas, “I have seen the growth of student organizations and the importance of involvement for students across all academic majors and classifications. I am very lucky to have a passion for what I do because I see the benefit not only from my personal experience at the University of Alabama but students I have worked with over the past several years,” she said.

            While the SOURCE is her home base, students might also run into Karagas in class, where she teaches New 222, or working in various leadership programming on campus, like leadership UA.

            The moral of her story? The SOURCE and the SOURCE Board of Governors are always there to help any student. 

Daniel Connors, Director of Communications

            Who is Daniel Connors? A junior from Enterprise, Alabama, Connors is double majoring in Global Business Management and Marketing, with a minor in Chinese. You might catch him in the Ferguson Center one day eating mousakka (his favorite food), and reading his favorite book Tuesdays With Morrie or maybe watching one of the Back to the Future trilogy, or High Society, his favorite movies. His favorite part about High Society? Frank Sinatra, who is coincidentally, one of his favorite musicians. After putting in his time here at UA, Connors intends to move to Australia, where he hopes to work in either the banking or the mining industry, two industries, which, according to Connors, have close relationships with China, explaining his interest in the Chinese language.

            Connors’ dedication to learning the language shows when you find out that thus far, Connors states that his most difficult class has in fact been his Chinese 102 class. Showing some diversity, he says that while it was difficult to choose, he has most enjoyed both his Accounting 210 class and a Cultural and Human Experience class he took for the International Honors program.

            Lending new meaning to the clichéd phrase, “a man of many hats,” you might also run into Connors at a HearUA meeting, a student organization of which Connors is the president and founder. Connors is also an active volunteer for READ Alabama and the SGA Director of Graphic Design.

            Between learning to speak Chinese and preparing for his future life down under, Connors works on the Board of Governors for the SOURCE, as the Director of Communications. As Director of Communications, he is responsible for all of the publicity, marketing, and promotion for the SOURCE, which includes graphic design, advertising, and social media, among others. If it’s from the SOURCE and on Facebook, Twitter, or the blogosphere, chances are, Connors is probably behind it. With such a broad reach, one must have a focus. Overall, Connors’ goal for the SOURCE this year is to create a new image of the SOUCE, and make sure the SOURCE brand truly represents the student body. According to Connors, “I want the SOURCE to be more visible to students and be more student oriented,” he said. “I want students to know that the SOURCE is a voice for student organizations.”